Healthcare costs and patient well being are effected by the degree of pressure relief for patients confined to beds for significant periods of time. Pressure sores, such as decubitus ulcers, potentially lead to infections and other conditions or complications. These can occur from prolonged pressure exposure, such as experienced by those confined to beds, whether in a hospital, nursing home, or private residence. Considerable efforts have been made to provide mattress systems or patient support surfaces which effectively redistribute and equalize pressure forces at the interactions between the patient and the support surface. Generally speaking, the more sophisticated techniques for achieving such pressure reductions are more involved to manufacture and are therefore more expensive. Several manufacturers today manufacture support surfaces which include several elongated air tubes, cells or cylinders combined with foam pieces or perimeter which surround the air tubes. Examples of embodiments having multiple, elongated air tubes are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,692,256; 5,412,821, and 5,070,560.
The bed shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,256 includes a stepped deck which includes an upper deck, and a lower deck coupled to the upper deck by a vertical deck side wall. Recently, manufacturers have angled the side wall SW of a stepped deck SD, as shown in FIG. 4. The space between the outermost air cell AC and the side wall SW is occupied with a resilient foam bolster B. These bolsters however limit the amount of area occupied by the air cells AC.
In view of the foregoing deficiencies associated with support surfaces and the beds associated therewith, there remains a need for a support surface which increases the usable surface area. It thus is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.